Green's phone BUZZING day he was traded to Hornets

• Josh Green is back on court for the Charlotte Hornets after missing the first 25 games through injury
• Green was traded to the Charlotte Hornets from the Dallas Mavericks in July, 2024
• He was part of the Australian Boomers bronze medal win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Josh Green is back and already his presence is being felt among the Charlotte Hornets.

The Aussie wing, who missed the first 25 games of the season due to off-season shoulder surgery, returned on December 13 where he played 17 minutes in a three-point loss before an impressive second game back, hitting two threes and providing his trademark defence as the Hornets beat Eastern Conference contenders, the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime.

Green's addition to Charlotte's line-up was much-needed, given the team's lack of defensive prowess among some offensive talents and the outlook on the season for the Hornets already looks brighter with the Boomers young gun making his mark.

The 25-year-old from Sydney is one of very few Hornets with experience of being part of a winning NBA program after he was traded from the Dallas Mavericks - the team who drafted him with pick 18 in the 2020 draft - just weeks after playing in the NBA Finals.

Green recounted how the trade went down and was his first insight into how quickly life can change in the NBA.

'It's just weird because when you lose in the finals, the first thing you think about is I can't wait to run it back with these guys, we're going to win it next year," Green said on NBA Australia's 'Represent' on YouTube.

"It was hard, I really didn't see myself getting traded, especially a week after the finals.

"I just remember I saw my name in trade rumours and what not, I felt pretty good going into offseason, my agent felt pretty good, but the day we felt pretty good, I think I was in Australia for one night, super jet-lagged, finally get to go to sleep and I woke up at three in the morning to 50 phone calls saying I was traded.

"It was a lot of different emotions, I didn't really know what to expect, first of all because I'm half asleep... but also your mind just thinks about all the good memories I was able to have in Dallas.

"But I think it speaks to how quickly life can change and being able to have my circle around me, it helped me out a lot with the adjustment."

However, it wasn't the first major lesson Green learned in the NBA, with his first playoff series in 2022 forcing him to work even harder on his game so he could play in big moments.

"(Playoff basketball) definitely did feel like a big step up but it was also was probably the hardest part of my career too because I realised I couldn't shoot," Green said.

"The Jazz put Rudy Gobert on me and it wasn't even necessarily like I couldn't shoot, it was more 'does he want to shoot this many times in a playoff game'.

"That's when I realised, I had one good game against the Jazz, but I also got benched after that series going into the Phoenix series. I knew what it was, I knew it was because they were most likely going to put a big man on me.

"I was so motivated going into that summer because I knew I could shoot the ball.

"Learning to fail, I knew I needed to work, there's nothing better than playoff basketball and it hurt me being benched so I was ready to go the next season."

Green made the necessary adjustments to his three-point shooting, going from 35.9% that season to 40.2% the next season and then still a respectable 38.5% in 20023-24 when the Mavs made it all the way to the championship series.

The former Arizona Wildcat also spoke about his love for representing his country, being part of Australian basketball history as a 20-year-old in 2021 when the Boomers won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

But he admitted growing up, he may have wanted to wear the green and gold in a different sport, thanks to an Australian sporting icon.

"Representing Australia, as a kid I always went to Socceroos games and stuff like that, being able to see Tim Cahill wear green and gold, it made me want to do that," Green said.

"I wasn't sure what sport it was going to be but green and gold always looks great.

"Going into my first Olympics I kind of knew I was going to be a young guy and not playing as much (but) I really enjoyed it.

"The young core for the Boomers, you saw it from an NBA standpoint and how well Dyson and Giddey (are playing), we're always striving for gold."

Now, with his return to the court boosting Charlotte's outlook on the season, Green's focus is on helping the Hornets return to the playoffs.

"Charlotte did an amazing job making me feel welcome... they made me feel really comfortable and I'm just excited now to see where that goes," he said.

"I think things don't just switch in a year, things take time, the guys realise that... for me I just want to bring as competitive a culture as I can... I truly think that we have a team and have the coaches to be able to make the playoffs."

Green also said he loved playing alongside Charlotte superstar and former NBL Next Star, LaMelo Ball, who constantly talks about his time in Australia.

"LaMelo loves Australia, we talk about it a lot, he loves his time in Australia, every single day he's like 'do you know this guy' but LaMelo's great... and it makes it better that he loves Australia," he said.